Wales could stay clear of big guns New Zealand, England and Australia in their World Cup pool if they beat France on Saturday.

A victory away in Paris, combined with an Irish defeat to Six Nations champions England, would see the Welsh team jump up to fourth in the world rankings.

That would mean them avoiding the other teams in the top four in their World Cup group, with the draw for the 2019 tournament in Japan to be made in May, based on the rankings after this final weekend of the Championship.

It’s a far cry from this time last week when Wales were facing the prospect of finishing outside the top eight and ending up in another group of death.

But their 22-9 triumph over Ireland has ensured that can’t happen and moved them up to sixth in the rankings.